Bowed expander roll



April 9, 1935. F. T. wALsH BOWED EXPANDER ROLL Filed March 24, 1953 INVENTOR.

@MT WM ATTORNEY.

` Patented Apr. 9, 1935` f "BQWDEXPANDER ROLL.

Frederick T.1Walsh,y Boston, Mass., a'ssignoriv to Thomas`` Leyland-Machinery j Co., f Readville,

Boston,

.Masse a corporation* of Massachusetts Applicaties Maren ,24, lgsafseriai No. `662,451-

` This invention relates to thecurved or bowed spreader OreXpander rolls that/are employed cloth spreading orexpanding devices ofthe type shown and described inU. S. Letters Patent No. 1,697,830, granted January 1, 1929. These curved spreaderforexpanderrolls are composed of a curvednon-rotating supportingrod `or bar disposed transversely of: 'theltravelfof the cloth, and a series of bobbins or clutches Vmounted end to end closely adjacent each other onA the stationf ary bar with capacity toyrevolver on the latteri Incertain instances va tubular rubber covering, continuous from endto end of'the'seriesyof bobbins is necessary'or desirable, forthe purpose 'of increasing the' frictional engagement" between the curved froll'thus formed'and the cloth, or on account of the vdelicate nature of nthe cloth, or for otherreasons V- i These rubber coverings have been? 'relatively shortlived,'bec'ause they eventually work` loose on their supporting Abobbins `and `operate `in faulty manner requiring replacement.` Unless they fit tightly on their bobbins or clutches, `the rubber coverings Vtrend to shift endwise out of proper working` position, resulting in `damagelto` themselves or,` to the clothorboth, to bulge and getout of round, and eventually totwistfand break. Attempts to i"1x' 'tl1e coverings to the"V bobbins by. locking them to theinside surface of; the cover through interengaging projeetionsfand depressions on these opposed surfaces have Vleft .room forim'provement, because of the inherent tendency of the roll to swell'andincrease bothA its exterior and interior diameters as a result of the rolling action incidentv to its use. As soon as this swelling4 loosens the covering sufliciently to permit relative motion between its interior surface and the opposing bobbin, theoresultant wear of the interior surface not only increases the bore, aggravating the trouble, but the worn-off rubber particles soon' collect 'in bunches between the surfaces of adjacent bobbins and the covering, forming humps at the exterior working surface of the covering which both interfere with the proper Working of the vexpander and put destructive strains on the covering itself.

To overcome these drawbacks and extend the useful life of these relatively expensive coverings, and to afford improved frictional lengagement i between the roll surface and the cloth, and to at tain other advantages, the invention comprises the combination with a stationary curved bar and bobbins rotatable thereon, of a rubbercovering in or on which are arranged expansion-re-V sisting cords. TheseV cords, preferably helically o differently arranged;

Patent No. 1,719,375, July 2, 1929.

3f claims. l (c1: asf-63) disposedfpreventftheexpansion of the interior` and exterior diametersV ofthe rubber sleeve,"'en suringa tightfitfbetween the bobbins and the coveringpreventing relative motion either endwisewor circumferential, andbecause theyxhave little ornoiappreciable widthnor,overlapfthey Y do not detract from the transverse resilience or interfere, with the endwisev contraction `and extension essential to `the rolls Vrotationl` about aA curved axis, 'i Additionally, through being femf bedded orjappld toythe `working ,surface Afor they rolls'so that portions of the f cords are Vexposed, they can be used to form aj surface-having desirable frictional and clothedirecting qualities;`

v4Illustrative embodiments of the limvention in its preferred formare shown' 'n the 1accompanVy-j` ingy drawing in which-#fy o Y ,v Y "Figg 1` isa Vportion vof. ajbowed expanded roll having the improved covering ofthe invention,`

partlyin section. y y o 4. 1 Fig. '2 is a transverse sectionof abowed eX- pander roll, showing vonejway, of employingthe ycords in thecoveringf 1 j y Fig.' 3 isa section'similarto Fig.v2.showing a two-'ply rubberV covering applied, `with the' cords Fig;4'is a partial transverse section ofa portionl of l the `covering lalone, showing another "embodie ment. 1"

rig/'5 is a, iongitudiaisecmon efe .perdenti the covering alone, showing still another application ofthe invention principles;

The bowed shaft carries Vthe usual bobbins 3 arranged end to end in close proximity, and turning freely on the shaft l. The bobbins are pro` vided at their ends with the usual bushings 5 providing bearing surfaces on ythe shaft, and with adjacent lubricant-holding felt' washers 1. The flexible` rubber covering 8 is mounted on the exterior of the bobbins. The bobbins may be of any desired or suitable exteriorshape, and preferably will be polygonal in section as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 for the better prevention of relative rotation between the bobbins and the covering. Also, some or all of the bobbins may have a slightly raised circumferential rib 9 helping to prevent endwise movement of the covering, as disclosed in U. S.

Embeddednin or otherwise incorporated with the rubber of the covering il` arethe cords 10,'

ypreferably of fibrous material, though they may be "of other material andeven of metal so Vlong as they satisfy the invention requirements. These cords,` being employed primarily. to vprevent increase in thediameter of the covering, m'ust `oiier l little or no'direction of extent lengthwise of the no substantial resistance to transverse bending of the'roll, and hence as applied they must have covering. They may be disposed in the form of layers of helical windings of continuous cords or groups of cords each extending helically from one end of the covering to theV other, the successive turns'of each helix being either contiguous or,

preferably, slightly spaced, as desired, and the several layers being spaced from eachother also if desired by intervening thicknesses of rubber,v as shown in Fig. l where three spaced plies of helical-windings are used.

Alternatively, the cords may be disposed in parallel relation ina sheet or warp, and embedded in or impregnated with rubber and the whole sheet wrapped one or more times about the series of bobbins vwhen disposed in proper relationcn a Y straight shaft, or about a form taking the place of these bobbins, and vulcanized; this vvform is shown in Fig. 2. Or the warp and a sheet of rubbermay be wound successively or simultaneously about the series of bobbins or the form, pressed and rolled into intimate association andinto cyl' lindrical shape, and then vulcanized. In this arrangement, each cord may lie in a radial plane as a flat spiral, or may follow a helical course, ifV

form and with the cordsembedded thereinin the form of a Warp is applied `in two layers, each` of which encircles thetough rubberv core without overlapping itself, so that each cord encircles the roll just once, the successive layers being applied so as to break joints. Or the cords and sheet rub-V ber may be applied successively and independently. In Fig. 4 the'cords I8 are employed only in the tough rubber core I6. Y

In the form of Fig. 5, the cords 22 forming the outermost ply 4are arranged soV asto be partially Vexposed at the exterior surface of the covering 8 to form' substantially peripheral ribs thereon,

modifying the frictional eifect of this surface on.

the fabric and also giving a corrugated orr wavy surface to the roll possessing known advantagesV in preventing excessiveexpanding or tearing of' Fig. 3 shows the arrangement'of cords in a soft-` the cloth and otherwise securing improved results.

For this purpose, the cords of the surface mayV e.

be of increased cross-section, well above the embedded cords l0, if desired.

e Because no allowance has to be made, in fitting the sleeve to the bobbins, for the usual subsequent diametrical expansion as a result of use, the in'- terior bore of the sleeve can approximate very closely the size of the'bobbin, instead of having to be materially less as usual. .As a result, the covering does not contract into the interstices between the meeting ends of the bobbins or clutches when at the convex side of the bend of the roll, to be inched and bitten off at these points by the convergence of the bobbins when arriving at the concave side of the bend. Thus this cause of injury to theA covering, and its resultant drawback of releasing l fragments of rubber to gather in bunches forming humps in the contour of the roll exterior, is largely or completely avoided. Y

While I have Lillustrated and described certain formsin whichthe invention may be embodied, I am aware than many modifications Vmay be made thereinv by any person skilled in the art,

, without departing from the scope of the invention Y as expressed in the claims. Therefore, Ido not wishto be limited to the particular forms shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but

l., What I do claim is:-

l. A roll covering for a bowed expander roll comprising in lcombination a sleeve of resilient material and cords embedded in thematerial encircling the roll covering inV radial planes.

2. A roll covering for a bowed expander roll comprising in combination a rubber sleeve and cords embedded in itsworkingsurface providing substantially peripheral ribs thereon..

3. In a cloth expander, in combination, la

bowed shaft, a plurality of bcbbins rotating freely thereon each about a different axis, a rubber covering removably surrounding and supported byk the bobbins for rotation about they center of the shaft, and expansion-resisting elements extending about the covering in spaced relation to each other holding the latter in rotation-preventingV relation with the'rbobbins, each circuit of such elements labout the covering lying substantially in a plane transverse to the covering so as to permit lengthwise expansion and contraction ofthe covering. Y

FREDERICK T.'WALSII.

lil) 

